Urban Decay - Revolution Lipstick Swatches

clockwise starting at the top: Rapture, Sheer Shame, and Manic

Today is a new month and I am embarking on a new adventure...hopefully. I am going to transition this blog to more of a beauty and whatnot blog, so not so much polish based. So it's not that much of a change but it opens up more ideas and ease for me...hopefully. We shall see how this turns out.

Today I have three different Urban Decay Lipsticks, two are Revolution lipsticks and one is a Sheer Revolution Lipstick. Why am I showing you these? Not only are these new to me, they are on sale!

$11 each. Yep, regularly $22 on sale for $11 (I got mine for a bit less because of my Ulta employee discount).

l-r: Sheer Shame, Manic, and Rapture

Here are swatches of the three different colors. You can really tell the difference between the Sheer formula and the original Revolution formula.

Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in Sheer Shame

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Manic

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rapture

Urban Decay is one of my favorite brands and their lipsticks are fabulous! The Sheer Revolution Lipsticks are really nice and hydrating. The original Revolution Lipsticks are very creamy and wear wonderfully!

A note: Rapture is my go-to lipstick to sell at work when women are looking for a nice your-lips-but-better color.

What are your go to Urban Decay lip products? Have you bought any of these on sale yet?

Urban Decay Lipsticks (Revolution, Matte, and Sheer) are on sale for $11 at Ulta, Sephora, Macy's, and Urban Decay.

A Sunday Ramble

The past four years have had the fabulous moments (helping in starting The Digit-al Dozen, meeting a bunch of fabulous bloggers, finding an "in") and some not so great moments (computers crash, hang nails, depression, anxiety, no longer part of The Digit-al Dozen). I chose to step down from the Digit-al Dozen as I haven't been very active on my blog. It was really heart-wrenching and the DD ladies have become some of my closest friends (only having met one in real life). But life and my depression/anxiety got in the way. 

So why no nails?

I would get physically ill when I sat down to do my nails. The anxiety was so bad that I just couldn't do it. If I did manage then I wasn't satisfied because my manis didn't look like the other DD ladies. My manis never really blossomed or got better over time. I just wasn't that good and having that pressure would stir up the anxiety even more. I always want my nails to look like so-and-so and have the painting and artistic ability as what's-her-name. I'm not satisfied with my own talents and abilities (and not only with nail art) and so therefore feel the need to step back (but say that to my stamping plate group buys. What is wrong with me!? Hahahahaha!). 

For some reason, this past year has been really rough on me. I am not at all where I ever thought I would be in my life. Ever. I thought I would be married with kids by now (I'm turning 35 in less than a month). I am almost sure that I will never marry; I don't allow myself to be in situations that create an opportunity. And it I did find someone? I don't think I could put them through what I have to go through. I would be too draining, too much for them. How could I bring anyone into what I go through? How does anyone that have mental health issues bring up the issue while dating. I would see it as almost a red flag for most people. 

Oh, but to have that someone who would be there and just tell you that you are not alone. That you can make it through it again. To be aware that you actually exist and that they actually care for you. That they are aware of you and that there really is something wrong when you say that you're "fine". That is my dream. Anyone else have that dream?

Currently working on tapering down on one of my medications. My new doctor was surprised at the dosage I was on and said that this medication is one that you don't want to stop suddenly and that this high of dose could be causing more anxiety. So for the next three months I will be cutting down by 0.5mg. We shall see what happens. He already lessened another medication I was on, because again, I was on too high of a dose. Seriously, what was the previous doctor doing to me!?

I realized that I have been medicated for more than half my life. Crazy to think about that. I am very interested in see how I would be without any medication. A lot has happened with my body and brain since I started any medication, heck, I went through puberty! But I am also very nervous about trying to go without (with the help of my Doctor, of course) my meds. I have no issue or negative thoughts about being on medication for the rest of my life, but I feel they may have been become almost a security blanket, and that makes me nervous.

I keep having thoughts of adding makeup info and photos and whatnot to my blog because it is what I am interested in now. But I feel again, that I am second rate compare to all those that I follow across social media. Aren't we our own worst enemies? Pfft. Would that be anything anyone would be interested in? If there is anyone still out there still looking at this blog. I have no idea.

So yeah, that's my ramble. No real rhyme or reason to the order of my thoughts, just wanted to get  some thoughts out there, or were those too many thoughts? Ramble ramble ramble. 

Please let me know if there is any interest for me continuing with any aspect of the blog. Yeah, yeah, I should be blogging for myself and what I want to blog about. But let's be truthful here, we all really want to know that people really do care about the fact that we put forth the effort to blog. Yes, it's an outlet but I also want it to be an outlet that I knew was being listened to and visited.

Welp, there's that. 

And here's my eye look from Saturday (and I'm wearing contacts, eeks!). I got so many compliments from my coworkers, it was really nice. There are three different Lit Glitter colors on my lids. :) 

Four Year Blogiversary!

Happy four year blogiversary to me! Four years ago (yesterday, Happy New Year as I write this) I sat down and tried to come up with a blog name. Four years ago I tried to find the courage to press publish. And I did both. 

I will be writing a post in the next few days explaining my absence and plans. But until then, have a safe and happy new year!

(source)

Irresistible Me Royal Remy Hair Extension Review

Hello Owlets, it's almost been two full months since I last posted (I will explain all of that in another post) and today I have for you a different kind of review. Sorry about the photo quality. I believe my camera is dying a slow and horrible death. Maybe I should ask Santa for a new one!

I was contacted by Irresistible Me to review a product of theirs, hair extensions. My curiosity was peaked, hair extensions + pixie cut? Is that possible? I goggled and searched and you tubed and was only able to find a few with my length of hair. Hmmmm, I thought, interesting, I wonder.....let's play!

So the extensions come in the box shown in previous photo. They then come in these cool looking zippered pouch. Why the two compartments? Well, the smaller one holds one clip in extensions that you can take out and test the color before opening up the entire package. How cool is that? If you chose the wrong color you would simply return it and that larger bundle could be used again! How thoughtful and very economic.

Here is the clip in that you use to check to make sure you chose correctly. And I did! As you can see it also comes with extra clips that you can replace lost ones if needed, like the little bag of buttons that come with fancy shirts.

I chose Royal Remy Hair in Medium Brown (#4), 14 inches, and the 200g set as it gives more pieces.

Next I am showing you the four different clip in pieces that you receive.

This is the largest and obviously the fullest and heaviest piece. This four clip in gives a lot of volume.

These are the three clips. I liked to use these first to give my hair a more natural look.

Five two clip clip ins. These are great fillers to help blend the hair all together.

And finally, two one clips. These are great to use to fill in as well, I only wish there were more of these.

A closeup of the clips. They are those bendy kinds, so they are easy to put in. This closeup also shows some of the different colors in the hair which gives it a much more natural look.

So here is me rocking my own hair (and an awesome shirt!). My hair here is longer than I normally have it, I'm due for a hair cut. But I figured this length would blend better than even shorter hair. (ugh! I hate taking pictures of myself!)

Ok, now I am in no way an expert on hair extensions, I know these don't look all perfect; but I think I did a fantabulous job putting these in.

It was so fun to wear them around. I haven't had long hair in over 20 years, and then it wasn't even this long. I felt like a mermaid! :)

As you can see, the color is perfect! As is the thickness/volume of the hair, meaning I don't have a poof of hair around my shoulders. They weren't heavy and there was no pulling (except for me pulling hair off my lips when it would get stuck in lip gloss. New experience for me).

I am definitely wearing these more often. I think I'm going to take them to my hairdresser to get them trimmed/styled a bit so they frame my face more. Still deciding. But you can color and curl these, possibilities are endless!

I had no issues with the extensions (well, one of the clips came loose but one little stitch and it's fixed, no problem) and would absolutely recommend anyone and everyone who's ever been interested in trying hair extensions to go through Irresistible Me. They also have other products on their site: styling tools, hair care products, and accessories. A little bit of something for everyone.

Thank you Irresistible Me for letting check something off my bucket list of having tried hair extensions!

40 Great Nail Art Ideas: Halloween

"I got you where I want you, and now I'm going to eat you!"

Welcome to another installment of 40 Great Nail Art Ideas! Today's prompt is Halloween. I wanted to do something easy but that I hadn't seen before. Well, I think this worked. ;)

It's based on a scary story/joke I heard often as a kid:

I'm Gonna Eat You

(click title to go to source)

There were these 3 guys. They had to find a place to stay so they went to a hotel.

The first guy went up to the counter and asked the clerk if he had any rooms for the night. The clerk said we only have one room and its the attic. I'll give you a gun, a knife, or a flash light. The first guy said,"I'll take the gun." The clerk said ok and gave him the key to the attic.

The guy went up to the attic, and he heard a voice, "I've go you wher I want you now. I'm gonna eat you!" The guy got so scared that he shot himself.

The second guy went up to the clerk and said, "Do you have any rooms for the night?" The clerk said, "I only have the attic and I can give you a knife or a flashlight." The man said, "I'll take he knife." The clerk gave him the knife and the key to the attic. The man walked up to the attic, and heard a voice, "I've go you wher I want you now. I'm gonna eat you!" The man got so scared that he stabbed himself.

The third guy went to the clrk and asked if there were any rooms. The clerk said only the attic. The clerk gave the guy a flashlight. The man went up to the attic and heard a voice, "I've go you wher I want you now. I'm gonna eat you!" The man turned the flashlight on and opened the closet door and saw this little boy sitting there picking his nose, eating his boogers, and saying, "I've got you where I want you now. I'm gonna eat you!"

 Muwahahahahahaha! Yep, I really did create a booger for my blog! And by create I don't mean by my body, because I promise you it's totally fake!

See! Just a little bit of hair glue, some Color Club Tribe and True, BarryM Paprika, BarryM Cotton, and Poshe Top Coat.

Voila! Booger!

Enjoy!

Last week's Orange, Purple and Green Prompt!

Don't forget to check out the other Halloween manis!

An InLinkz Link-up

What's Up Wednesday - October 28, 2015

So I was going through my blog feed a couple months ago and came across this really cool post from Steph's Spot Blog. She links up with other bloggers (Mix & Match Family, Pinterest Told Me To, The Larson Lingo <--- The ladies who created it). So I thought I would try it out. :)

What I'm Eating this Week:

Let's just say this pertains to everything right now. :)

What I'm Reminiscing About:

My years at University. My niece is headed to the same University that I attended and I've been helping her find housing and deciding on classes. It totally made me want to go back 8-10 years ago (graduated with my BS in 2007, but I'd redo two years) and be back in that school atmosphere. I miss it so much. Do I miss the homework and all that junk? Hmmm, yes and no. The stress - no; but the learning - yes.

What I'm Loving:

That it is fall and all the Owl themed items! Yay!

What I've Been Up To:

Coping. Can I just say how well Allie from Hyperbole and a Half, perfectly describes everything! Bah, I want her books so bad.

What I'm Dreading:

Black Friday. Ugh, customers. Don't want to deal with customers. And why are we open on Thanksgiving. Thankfully as far as I know I don't have to work on Thanksgiving, but definitely Black Friday.

What I'm Working On:

Trying to get more organized so that I can get my blogging more consistent.

What I'm Excited About:

All the new holiday gift sets for makeup and nail polish and everything! I love holiday gift sets!

What I'm Watching/Reading:

Watching: I think the question would be what am I not watching! Bahahahahaha! I did binge watch the Heroes Reborn (now caught up). Yay! Hiro is back! Also The Walking Dead (but am not caught up so no spoilers!) and Grey's Anatomy.
Reading: Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan. This is a very very interesting read about an investigative reporter who has no memory of month of her life to a disease in which she lost the ability to move or speak. Also in the middle of My Story by Elizabeth Smart which is about her kidnapping back in 2002.

What I'm Listening To:

Youtube, youtube, youtube. It's playing constantly in the background of everything that I do. ItsKeerstin, Wayne Goss, grav3yardgirl, and RawBeautyKristi are just a few that I watch/listen.

What I'm Wearing:

Today (day off): jeans, tshirt, and cardigan. My normal work day: black, black, and more black. Oh, just bought some more black pants today too! :)

What I'm Doing this Weekend:

Halloween. *joy* Ugh, not may favorite thing. Don't want to walk around, wah!

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month:

The Digit-al Dozen theme of Pinterest Inspired!

What Else Is New:
I got a new to me vehicle! A 2007 Ford Escape, 62,000 miles! Woot woot! (well, not for the car payments though, but I got a great deal).

What do you think? Do you like these types of posts?

40 Great Nail Art Ideas: Orange, Purple, and Green (+ Splatter) and NCC Funky French

Today is was Friday and so it's another prompt for 40 Great Nail Art Ideas! Today I bring you Orange, Purple, and Green plus Splatter. Yep, it's a color and design prompt! Also, I've added in The Nail Challenge Collaborative prompt of Funky French! It's a two for one day!

So why is it that when you create a splatter mani it looks all fabulous and then you try to add just a teeny tiny bit more and BLAM! Massive gloop of polish! Does this happen to anyone else? Bah!

For the base I used: China Glaze Papaya Punch and China Glaze Def Defying, For the splatters I used Papaya Punch and Def Defying as well as:China Glaze Mummy May I and China Glaze It's Alive (two older China Glaze Halloween polishes, of course I had to use them!).

So after splattering I tried to figure out how to create a funky french, I used black acrylic paint to create a normal french tip that I added (a la Tim Burton). I didn't leave it alone there, of course not. I decided create witch stockings and shoes using the Def Defying and Papaya Punch. I added Essie Matte About You.

What do you think? I'm thinking I should have just left the funky french without the stripes. Also, should have not added that last little splatter. Meh, whatever! :)

Look how pretty my UberChic mat looked after my splattering! So pretty! :)

Here's the collage for last week's prompt of Geeks!

Don't forget to check out the other amazing nail art ideas!

An InLinkz Link-up

Don't forget to check out the other funky french manis!

An InLinkz Link-up